Me Against the World
by Dark Ice Kitsune
Summary: The 1st 7 chapters are NOT mine. :D hehe, got this story from a fellow fanfiction authoress, and I'm going to TRY and continue it :, YusKag
1. Chapter 1

-Chapter One-

-Me Against the World-

"Chance Meeting"

Kagome grumbles angrily as she trudges up the steep hill to her grandmother's house. Oh, forgive me. Her grandmother's compound.

Trotting lazily beside her is a small, sleek black and sapphire dragonet. His milky blue eyes closed, as they're not much use anyway. Kagome and Sango had rescued the young dragon from a large bear demon, and from then on he had followed Kagome around. The two girls had named him Shikuro. Shiku for short.

Kagome continues grumbling all the way up the stairs until she finally reaches the top. She gives a long yawn before stretching out like a cat. "Hey Shiku, where do you think grandma is?"

"BACK OFF YOU CRAZY OLD HAG!" Comes a yell from the back.

Kagome raises an eyebrow. "Well, I guess that would explain it. C'mon Shiku, lets go see who or what grandma's bugging."

2 years have passed since Kagome first fell into the bone-eaters well. Naraku has already been destroyed, however, in the final battle the Shikon no Tama had been shattered once again. For the past half a year the group has been traveling, once again in search of the jewel shards.

Sango and Miroku are happily married, and Sango is carrying Miroku's first child. Kikyo had been killed by Inuyasha in the final battle, due to her betrayal. Shippo met up with his uncle somewhere along the journey, and now lives in Kaede's village with the older red fox demon. As for Kagome and Inuyasha… Their bond has grown easily stronger, but this time it's a sibling bond.

Kagome barely glances up as a beam of blue light shoots up into the sky. Shikuro however, flaps his wings slightly in protest to the sudden energy spike, as he is only able to feel and sense the energy.

About one year ago Kagome had gone to Sango and Miroku, asking the two to train her. Inuyasha heard about it after a few weeks, and pitched in as well. But even after all of that, and having their sibling bond, he still calls her a 'weak, shard detector'. And of course the demons that they fight call her weak as well. Thank god Sango and Miroku are always there to cheer her up.

The girl and dragonet round the corner of the house just in time to see Genkai send Yusuke flying backward through the trees. Kagome grins at the sight. 'Grandma's never been in better shape.'

"Ya-ho, obaa-san!"

Genkai nods her head to Kagome's yell. "Hello Kagome, give me a moment to take care of my dimwitted student who doesn't know when to quit."

Kagome laughs. "Okay, grandma. I'll see you inside. Want some tea?" She smirks as the raven haired boy comes flying out of the woods and begins punching and kicking Genkai. Unfortunately for him, barely any of the hits make it.

"Tea's fine!"

Kagome grins as Genkai once again knocks the poor boy back into the woods.

"Alright, grandma!"

Kagome silently sips her tea before looking up at Yukina. "So, your name's Yukina, right? My mom told me grandma had someone living with her, but I figured it was the boy that grandma's beating up right now."

Yukina smiles. "Hai, I'm Yukina. So, are you really Genkai's granddaughter? Forgive me for saying this but…" She gently sets down her cup of green tea. "You don't really look like her."

Kagome cracks a grin. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Grandma's actually the only one in the family with pink hair. I do have her eyes, though. And according to my mom and grandpa, I have her attitude as well." She glances thoughtfully at the door. "I don't see how exactly…"

Yukina giggles softly as the door slides open and a certain grumbling, raven haired boy stumbles in. Right behind him is Genkai, muttering something along the lines of 'dimwitted students who couldn't kick my ass even on my worst day', to which Kagome cracks up over.

"And what the hell's so funny?" Yusuke snaps.

Kagome immediately stops laughing and glares at the boy. She inwardly gasps at the sight of him and then mentally groans. 'Why do all the cute guys have to be cocky pricks'  
Yusuke glares at the raven haired beauty in front of him. 'Wait a sec, raven haired beauty? What the hell am I thinking? I just got over the break up with Keiko!'

Yukina almost giggles at the look on the two's faces. "I'm going to start on dinner, Genkai." She says, standing up and walking out of the room.

Genkai nods before taking a seat at the table away from Kagome. Yusuke, however, sits down right across from the young priestess.

"So, who are you and what are you doing here?" Yusuke asks.

Kagome smiles lightly. "My name's Higurashi Kagome, I'm here to visit my grandma." She takes a sip of her tea. "So, you must be Grandma's student, right? What's your name."

"Urameshi Yusuke." He replies.

A half-smirk forms on Kagome's face. "So you're the great Urameshi Yusuke, ne? I've heard about you from my younger brother. Apparently you're now his role model." She rolls her eyes at this. "So, was it really you who beat up Hojo?"

"Who?" Comes the brilliant reply.

Kagome sighs. "Never mind. He's just some guy at my school who decided to stalk me for a while."

Yusuke thinks for a minute. "That sounds familiar… I was wondering why I thought I'd seen you before. I was going to some arcade in the Musashi district when I saw this boy stalking you and takin' pictures. Can't stand wusses like him, so I beat him up. I wasn't in the best mood either…"

Kagome sweat drops at this statement. "Well, umm… thanks." She sighs and stares at her cup, her mouth forming a sad smile. "Guess I'm too weak to even get a human idiot away from me."

Yusuke lazily stretches and quotes something Genkai once told him. "'You're only weak if you allow yourself to be.' Genkai told me that once when I was about ready to give up." He watches out of the corner of his eye as Genkai smirks. "It's the truth, if you don't think you can do something, then you're not going to be able to do it"  
Kagome smiles. "Thanks Urameshi, I needed to hear that."

"Just Yusuke, please. I get called by my last name enough by one of my teammates." He says, smiling. "As long as I can call you by your first name of course."

Kagome smiles coyly and twirls a piece of hair around her finger. "Well… I guess you can."

"Well good, because I was going to do that anyway."

Kagome breaks out into a true smile for the first time in what seems like a long time. "I'm glad."

* * *

-This is Dark Ice Kitsune here, and I'm gonna try and edit the story to where I have a better feel on how I want to write it. So if you'd like to re-read it in my terms, that's cool :D- 


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2:-

"Kagome's Proposal"

-Me Against the World-

* * *

During dinner Kagome told them about her friends and how she times travels. The others found some of her stories unbelievable, especially where they concerned Miroku. Genkai and Yusuke also told Kagome about the rest of the guys and everything but the Makai tournament to her.

After the small group ate the delicious dinner Yukina made, Kagome introduced everyone formally to Shikuro. Surprisingly, Genkai and Shikuro got along just fine, and Shikuro enjoyed Yukina's company and gentle nature. Yusuke and Shikuro on the other hand… well, lets just say they get along about as well as Inuyasha and Kouga get along.

Yusuke came out worse than Shikuro, as he received several bite and fire wounds on his arms from fighting with the small dragon. Shikuro got two bumps on his head; one from Yusuke's fist and the other from the wall.

"You know," Kagome says, tying the bandage on Yusuke's arm. "I would think someone would know better than to mess with a dragon. Not even a small blind one is completely helpless."

Yusuke just glares at dragon, who glares back and sends a puff of smoke in Yusuke's direction.

"All done." Kagome announces, closing the first aid kit. She looks over at Shikuro. "Hey Shiku, how about you go see what Yukina's doing. She should be in the kitchen cleaning up, so maybe she'll give you a snack."

Shikuro lets out a heavy sigh before stretching his wings and flying off into the kitchen. Kagome waits until he's in there for sure before turning to Yusuke. "I have something I want to ask you."

"Yeah?" Yusuke raises an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I remember grandma telling me some things about you… she said that you remind her of me just a little, with what we do and everything…" Kagome says, looking down at the ground. "It got me thinking."

Neither of them notice Genkai leaning just outside the living room entrance, listening to the two of them.

"What if we were to team up?" Kagome says. "That was my first thought because it seems that no one thinks we can make it sometimes."

"How's that?" Yusuke asks.

Kagome continues gazing at the ground. "Well… My friend Inuyasha tells me all the time that I can't do anything right. I know he thinks I can't make it. It's true though… I can't fight very well and always wind up getting rescued." She sighs. "My friends did train me, so I'm a lot better than I was before, but it's not enough. It's only just a little better." She looks up at Yusuke. "Ever wonder why you're the only Spirit Detective with a team? It's most likely because Koenma thinks you can't do it on your own. Unlike me, however, you are fully capable of making it on your own."

"Kagome, what are you getting at?"

"I was wondering if we could team up. Show the world that we can actually make it. Sure, we'd be helping each other out, but it'd be so we could get strong enough to show that we can make it." She back down and smiles lightly. "Kind of like one of my brother's favorite songs by Simple Plan called 'Me Against the World'. It's actually a nice song."

"I don't think so."

"Huh?" Kagome changes her gaze again and looks up at the raven haired boy across from her.

"I choose to fight with the guys. It's not like Koenma makes me fight along with them." Yusuke says. "Guess you'll be on your own."

Kagome looks sadly down at the ground. "Of course… as always." She looks up at him and gives a fake smile. "Thanks for listening to my rambling anyway. Talk to you later, Yusuke. Maybe…" She stands up quickly and leaves the room, heading down the hall to her own room.

"You should listen to her, you know." Genkai says, walking into the room. "You could actually learn something from her. She is right about Koenma though. Sure, he doesn't make you fight with the others, but he makes them fight with you. Why do you think that is exactly? Think about what Kagome said, Yusuke. It does make sense." She smirks.

"And if you don't train with her, you'll be training extra hard with me."

"That's not fair!" Yusuke yells.

"Life isn't fair, dimwit. Think about what Kagome said."

Kagome's Room

Kagome's room has a light blue colored ceiling with white coloring made to resemble the sky. Barely visible are small clear dots all over the ceiling, so when the lights are out at night it looks light a starry sky. On the top part of her walls the 'sky' extends down a little bit, more so in some areas. The rest is made to resemble a small forestry area with a few trees. The carpet is a grassy green color as well. There's a small futon in the corner with light blue covers and white pillows. Any dressers and desks in the room are wooden and the stereo sitting on the main dresser is green.

Sitting in the middle of the room, with a silver-blue staff similar to Miroku's laying across her lap, is Kagome who is meditating like Miroku told her to.

FLASHBACK

Miroku sighs. "Kagome, I don't think I can help you train your powers. Your powers are more wild than mine, which makes it extremely difficult to control." He explains.

"But what am I going to do, Miroku?" Kagome asks. "It could be really bad if I don't get my powers trained."

"I think that if you meditate at least three times every day that you can develop enough control over your powers that I'll be able to train you." Miroku says. "And also, I have something for you that may help." He walks over to a tree and picks up a silver-blue staff from behind it. Then he walks back over to Kagome. "This is for you. You can channel your energy into it, which will take some stress off your body. Make sure you always have this with you when you meditate. Well," He says, a sudden thought coming to him. "it may be better if you have it with you at all times. I don't know how you can pull that off in your time, but I'm sure you'll think of something."

END FLASHBACK

And so she did. Kaede had given her several scrolls to look over, most of which were about different types of herbs and plants and what you can use them for. A few of them were spells. There was also some old scrolls of her grandpa's that she looked over. Strangely enough, they were real and did help her. One of the scrolls was on making objects small enough to carry around without anyone else being able to see it and another was on cloaking. But with the cloaking spell, anyone with spirit energy or demon energy would be able to either sense or see the staff, so she went with the "shrinking" spell.  
A knock on her door, sends Kagome out of her meditative state. She sighs heavily and opens her chocolate brown eyes. "Come in."

* * *

-Okay so I didn't edit this one much…well none at all :D- 


	3. Chapter 3

-Chapter 3-

"Acceptance"

-Me Against the World-

* * *

Yusuke somewhat hesitantly opens her door and walks in. His gaze quickly takes in Kagome's room before landing on the raven haired girl in the middle of the floor. "Hey."

"Yusuke?" Kagome asks curiously, turning around. "Well, you're the last person I expected to come in here, that's for sure. Something up?"

"Besides the sky?" Yusuke asks lamely.

Kagome giggles and pats the floor beside her in an invitation to join her. Yusuke takes a breath before sitting down beside her.

"That's a pretty cool staff." He comments. "Where'd you get it?"

"Miroku gave it to me for meditation. It's suppose to help me with my control." Kagome explains. "As to where- or more along the lines of how- he got it, I have no idea. And if he pulled his usual 'innocent holy monk' routine, then I really don't want to know." She sets the staff on the floor beside her, the rings chinking merrily, and then turns back to Yusuke. "Now, I know you're in here for a reason. Care to elaborate?" She frowns for a moment. "Grandma didn't threaten you to come talk to me, did she?"

"Well, kind of. I wouldn't have come if I didn't want to though… I guess…" Yusuke mumbles.

Kagome sighs. "I should have known…"

"I'm here now."

Kagome blinks and looks up at Yusuke. "True." A smile tugs on her lips. "Alright, so I guess you have a few questions about my proposal, ne? Ask away."

"Some of the questions might be stupid." Yusuke warns.

"'There are no stupid questions, just stupid answers'." Kagome quotes. "As I said, ask away."

Two Days Later- Somewhere in the Mountains

"Not like that!" Kagome yells, ducking as the wooden bo staff Yusuke was using spirals over her head. She sighs and gives Yusuke a patronizing look before moving to pick up his staff for the 5th time, the rings on her own staff continuously clinking together.  
Yusuke glares at her, mumbling obstinacies under his breath. 'She's worse than the old hag!'

"Catch!" Kagome cries, tossing the staff to Yusuke, who catches it instinctively. "Now, lets try this again. Slower this time, and listen to what I say for once."

'I can't wait until it's my turn to teach you how to control your spirit energy. You're not the only one who picked up techniques from Genkai…' Yusuke thinks, as he moves into a offensive position.

"I told you to start off in a defensive position, Yusuke!" Kagome yells in frustration. "What part of 'listen to what I say for once' do you not understand!"

Yusuke grits his teeth and glares at her. "All of it."

"You punk!"

"And damn proud of it!"

"Idiotic jerk!"

"Uncaring bitch!"

"Hearing-troubled bastard!"

And so it continues. Yusuke had to make himself a new staff at least once every day either from (A) him doing something stupid or (B) Shikuro being overprotective of Kagome and deciding to attack Yusuke and roast the wooden staff..

Being who he is, Yusuke mastered the basics in a week and started on Kagome's spirit energy training.

"Alright, close your eyes and focus your energy on your fingertip." Yusuke instructs.  
Kagome blinks. "But-"

"Just do it."

Kagome sighs and lifts one hand out in front of her. Then she closes her eyes and concentrates. Almost immediately a bright pink light wraps around her mixed with swirls of silver-blue.

Yusuke looks at the two different colors and tries to figure out why there's two. Then it hits him. "Kagome, did Miroku ever teach you how to block your priestess powers?"

"No, why?" Kagome asks, without opening her eyes.

Yusuke grumbles something under his breath.

"What was that?" Kagome asks. "I don't have demon hearing you know."

Yusuke looks up and stares her right in the eyes. "We're in big trouble."

In the Feudal Era

Inuyasha growls and drums his fingers against the wooden floor of Kaede's hut. Every once in a while one of his ears twitches.

Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara are all sitting around the small room watching Inuyasha. Well, more correctly, Miroku's admiring Sango, Shippo's going through his toy attack devices, Kirara's sleeping, and Sango's watching Miroku wearily, wondering how long it will be before he tries to grope her again.

"That's it!" Inuyasha yells standing up. "I'm going after her! She should have been back by now, the stupid wench!"

"Inuyasha, that's no way to talk about our dear sister Kagome." Miroku comments. "Sit down and be patient. She does deserve some peace in her time."

"And besides," Shippo pipes up. "Kagome told us she was going to spend some time at her grandmother's temple, remember? You wouldn't be able to find her, especially since she's been gone for so long and is suppose to be far away. You said it yourself that you wouldn't be able to track her."

Inuyasha growls at the young Kitsune and bops him over the head.

"Ow! Inuyasha, what was that for! I'm telling Kagome when she gets back!"

Miroku sighs. "Now Inuyasha, that's no way to treat a growing demon. Shippo could get serious brain damage from you hitting him all the time."

"Keh. The runt can handle himself." Inuyasha replies, folding his arms over his chest.

"I'm still telling Kagome when she comes back!" Shippo yells.

"Shut up, runt"  
-Bop!- And another bop on the head for Shippo. This just isn't the young Kitsune's day, is it?  
"Inuyasha, cut it out!" Sango scolds. "We know you miss Kagome, but that's no reason to take your frustration out on Shippo!"

"I don't miss her!" Inuyasha roars.

"Yes you do!" The other three yell at him, effectively shutting up the hanyou momentarily.

* * *

-End of 3- 


	4. Chapter 4

-Chapter 4-

"Back to the Past"

-Me Against the World-

* * *

Kagome and Yusuke sit outside on the steps to Genkai's compound looking up at the starry sky.

"You can't see as many stars in this time…" Kagome comments.

"Oh?" Yusuke responds.

"Mmmhmm." Kagome says, sighing slightly.

Yusuke takes his eyes off the stars and glances over at her. "You miss them?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Kagome asks. "They're like my second family. Sango and Kirara are my sisters and Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo are the most annoying brothers in the whole world."

Yusuke laughs. "Some family."

Kagome nods, brown eyes shining. "Yeah, but even if I do go back Shippo won't be there, Inuyasha will most likely be off traveling somewhere, and I won't be able to spend very much time with Sango because Miroku's been overprotective." She laughs, thinking about the monk and demon slayer. "Sango's still paranoid about Miroku groping her all the time. I guess odd habits never die, ne?"

Yusuke nods. "Yeah, sure sounds like it."

Kagome lightly sighs and the two are surrounded by silence once again. A few minutes later she decides to break it.

"Hey Yusuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to come to the Feudal Era with me?"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Shippo laughs as his uncle shows him his newest trick; collapsible swords! Perfect for tricking humans dumb enough to buy them from a Kitsune! Of course, they never really know that they're buying them from a Kitsune, so I guess they're not very dumb.

Shippo's laughter trails off suddenly and he experimentally sniffs the air. "Kagome…?" He looks in the direction of Inuyasha's Forest in surprise. "Kagome's back!" He turns excitably to his uncle. "Uncle, you've got to come meet Kagome! She's back, I'm sure of it! Follow me!"

Shippo's highly amused uncle follows the excited Kitsune through the village, not even stopping to tell Sango, Miroku, Kaede, and Inuyasha.

Shippo speeds through the forest, paying no attention to the branches he occasionally runs into. The pounding of his heart speeds up when he catches a flash of white among the green. "KAGOME!" He yells, launching himself in the air toward her arms.  
He never gets that far.

"Hey Kagome, who's the runt?" Yusuke asks, holding Shippo up by the back of his shirt.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Can be heard from Shippo as he struggles to free himself.

"Yusuke, put him down! That's my friend Shippo!" Kagome exclaims.

Yusuke shrugs and drops the young Kitsune to the ground.

Shippo jumps up and hits Yusuke in the head before Kagome has a chance to. "You meanie! What was that for!"

Kagome sighs. 'This does not bode well…'

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Inuyasha glares at Yusuke. Yusuke glares right back. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kagome, and Shippo's uncle, Kojiro, watch the two, annoyed. Well, Kojiro was actually quite amused by all of this.

"Kagome, you have the worst luck." Sango comments after a few minutes.

Kagome sighs. "I know, Sango. I know. You want to go to the hot springs?"

Sango nods. "Sure." She pokes Miroku in the ribs, making him jump. "I don't care if we're married, if I catch you anywhere near those hot springs you will suffer a long and painful death, do you hear me?"

"Yes dear…" Miroku replies.

Kagome stands up. "Shikuro, make sure none of them come near the hot springs. Except for Shippo."

"I'm going to stay here and help Shikuro." Shippo says, not wanting to go and have to listen to their girl talk.

"Thanks Shippo." Kagome says gratefully.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

At the hot springs…

Sango looks seriously at Kagome. "So, do you like this guy or what? He seems a little rough around the edges."

"Well, he's got his sweet side too." Kagome counters. "He's just… I don't know how to explain it, Sango. He's… different."

"He's a lot like Inuyasha." Sango says.

Kagome shakes her head 'no'. "He's not. I mean, he puts on the same tough-guy attitude, but they really are a lot different. Yusuke's not afraid to say what's on his mind and doesn't really care much about what others think of him. I mean, he care's but he doesn't." She looks helplessly at Sango. "Does that make any sense?"

Sango just chuckles. "Kagome, you've got it bad."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back with the guys.

"You ever wonder what they could possibly be doing at the hot springs together?" Miroku asks.

"What are you talking about now, Miroku?" Shippo asks.

Miroku sighs. "Every time they go to the hot springs they go together. It makes a guy wonder."

"They just want to go there and talk about you all without you being nearby to hear them." Shippo replies, slipping a sucker from Kagome's bag. 'She's still got 'em! Mmm… strawberry!'

"Really now?" Miroku looks interested. "What do they say?"

Shippo shrugs. "Different things. Mainly Sango talks about how much a pervert you are and how if you come anywhere near them she'll bash you over the head with Hiraikotsu. Oh, and then Kagome usually says she'll sit Inuyasha into oblivion if he does anything."

"Mou, so violent." Miroku sighs.

"It's funny. I've known for a while that Sango's liked you a long time." Shippo says. "Of course, I had to promise not to say anything, but it's alright now. After all, you two are finally married." He looks at Inuyasha and Yusuke. "How long do you think they'll keep this up?"

"Who?" Miroku and Kojiro ask.

"The two idiots sitting there glaring at each other." Shippo replies, pointing at the two.

"Ah… most likely until the lovely ladies come back." Miroku says.

Kojiro shakes his head in exasperation. "I wouldn't let Lady Sango hear you say that if I were you."

"I know better than to invoke the wrath or any woman." Miroku defends. "Inuyasha on the other hand…"

"Oi! Shut up monk!" Inuyasha snaps, breaking eye contact with Yusuke.

Yusuke smirks and sits back as almost all the tension in the room evaporates.

"So, you an Kagome didn't explain why you're here." Inuyasha says in what he hopes to be a conversational tone.

"I need help with training Kagome, and she invited me. You'll have to ask Kagome about why she decided to bring you." Yusuke replies.

Shippo smiles his mysterious I-know-something-you-don't-know smile.

"What kind of training?" Miroku asks.

Yusuke sighs. "She's having trouble separating her purification energy from her spiritual energy. Yes, there is a difference. Spiritual energy doesn't purify demons, which is why I'm able to use it." He says, pulling a little reiki to his fingertip to show the monk. "I figured you'd be able to help me help her get the hang of it."

Miroku nods. "I'll do my best."

* * *

-End of Four- 


	5. Chapter 5

-Chapter 5-

"Small Problems "

-Me Against the World-

* * *

"No! No! No!" Yusuke yells, extremely frustrated.

Kagome glares at Yusuke as she sits up after falling on her butt for the tenth time. "Why don't you do it Mr. High-and-Mighty!" She snaps.

Yusuke jumps down from the tree branch and lands in front of Kagome. "Get up. We're going to do this until you get it right. You're the one who wanted to learn, you're the one who wanted to train, and train you will." He says before Kagome can say anything in her defense. Then he pulls her up off the ground, ignoring the glare he receives from her.

On the outer edge of the clearing are Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha who are all watching the two raven-haired teens train. Sango is sitting on Miroku's lap, and the monk has his arms wrapped around her waist and is gently stroking her stomach. Inuyasha is determinedly ignoring all of them.

"He's a little rough on her, isn't he." Sango comments, watching as Yusuke nearly pushes Kagome to her limit and then backs off.

"Not really." Miroku says. "He's trying to teach her the best way he can. This is most likely the way he learned."

Sango frowns. "I wish he'd be a little more gentle on her. Kagome's not used to fighting very much, especially not hand-to-hand combat. She has learned a lot since we first met her, but she's not used to being under this much fighting stress."

Miroku kisses Sango's cheek. "She'll be fine. Yusuke knows what he's doing."

At this comment, Inuyasha snorts, but otherwise says nothing.

Yusuke sighs. "Alright, we're taking a break."

Kagome sighs in relief and sinks to the ground. "Thanks…"

"Just ten minutes." Yusuke says, grinning. "Then we're getting right back to work"  
Kagome groans. 'Why did I ask him to do this again? Oh yeah, the whole "kindred spirits" thing.' She carefully picks herself up off the ground, wincing from some of her older bruises, and then glares at Yusuke, who just continues grinning.

"Kagome, over here!" Sango yells, waving her arm to catch Kagome's attention.

Kagome walks over to her two old companions and collapses on the log beside Inuyasha. "Oh Kami…" She groans. "what have I gotten myself into?"

Inuyasha, again, snorts but this time decides to say something. "Don't complain wench. You're the one who wanted to train because you feel like a weak little girl."

"Gee, thanks. I really needed that…" Kagome grumbles, weakly glaring at Inuyasha. "Just shut up or I'll S-I-T you."

"Feh."

"Kagome, no threatening people on breaks!" Yusuke cheerfully reminds. "It'll cost you the next time!"

Kagome's eye twitches and Inuyasha looks annoyed.

"What the hell is the brat talking about?" The half dog demon asks.

Kagome glares at the ground as if it's the source of all her problems. "We came up with a weird rule system back home. He made up rules for days when it's him training me and I made up rules for when I'm training him." She lifts her head up to glare at Yusuke instead of the ground. "I'm going to hurt you for making up that stupid rule."

Yusuke grins and snaps his fingers. "Alright, break's up! Back to training for you. Oh, and you owe me five laps around the village later."

Kagome groans again and slowly gets to her feet. 'Kami I hate his stupid rules!'

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 (Please read note at end of chapter!)

Later that night Yusuke finds Kagome sitting outside dressed in a white yukata just looking up at the stars.

"Hey."

Kagome's eyes flicker over to Yusuke for a moment and she smiles. "Hey."

Yusuke comes over and tries to sit down beside the miko, but is stopped by a growl from Shikuro.

"Shikuro, go inside." Kagome instructs. "I'll be fine. Yusuke's not a bad guy you know"  
Shikuro lets out a pitiful whining noise that makes him sound like a small dog of some sort but gets up and goes inside, leaving Kagome alone with Yusuke.

"Have a seat." Kagome says, patting the now empty space beside her.

Yusuke sits down and the two are immersed in silence for a few minutes before Kagome sighs.

"Ever notice how much cleaner it is here?"

Yusuke looks at the young priestess questioningly. "What do you mean?"

Kagome's gaze drops from the sky to Yusuke. "Just think about it. There's no pollution here in this time and many of the forests still stand tall and strong. In our time there's a lot of cities and pollution."

"But here there's more diseases and war." Yusuke argues. "Hardly cleaner than our own time."

Kagome nods in understanding. "I know where you're coming from. I guess I just mean it's more… pure. Not clean exactly. Because you're right, there is more fighting here than in our own time especially since the barrier hasn't been fully erected here. And when you add in the Shikon shards…" She bites her lip and looks away. "Yusuke, I still have to find the shards. The Shikon jewel is my responsibility and I've once again been irresponsible and shattered it. I should be glad that we won't have to deal with Naraku again, but what if another demon like him finds a shard? I-"

"You'll be fine." Yusuke interrupts. "You shouldn't worry so much about things you can't control. It's not your fault that the jewel shattered again."

Kagome gives Yusuke a look. "Yusuke, it was my arrow that shattered the jewel again."

Yusuke sweat drops. "Okay, then maybe it is your fault. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself though. It's not like you meant to shatter it again. Right?"

"Well actually…"

"Kagome!" Yusuke shouts, exasperated.

Kagome laughs at the look on the Spirit Detective's face. "I'm joking! Of course I didn't mean to shatter it."

Yusuke relaxes. "Oh. Well good."

Silence once again surrounds the two teens from the future.

"So," Yusuke says, not quite knowing where to begin. "you have to go find these jewel shard things, right?"

Kagome nods.

"Then let me help you." Yusuke says, laying down so he can look more easily up at the stars.

Kagome looks down at him in surprise. "You'd help?"

"Yeah, why not. I've got nothing better to do and besides," He grins at her. "you still need a lot of help with your fighting. I haven't even covered hand-to-hand combat yet!"

Kagome groans. "Oh Kami, I never should have arranged this agreement between us."

"You're the one who wanted to show the world that we can be something." Yusuke reminds. "You just somehow got me to go along with it. I still don't know exactly how…"

Kagome rolls her eyes at this. "Yeah, because I was just so sneaky and tricked you into it, is that right?"

Yusuke closes his eyes and nods. "That sounds about right."

There's a rustle of movement from Kagome, but Yusuke keeps his eyes closed. He regrets this when a bucket of water is dumped onto him.

"KAGOME!" He yells, mopping water out of his face with his hands. Yusuke glares at the laughing priestess. "You'd better run." He warns.

Kagome stops laughing at the look on his face and 'eeps' before she takes off running toward the forest. Yusuke smirks and waits five seconds before running after her.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The next morning brings peaceful sunny skies, perfect weather to start a trip on, right? Well, maybe not.

"You're not going home!" Inuyasha shouts. "You just got here a few days ago and we haven't looked for any of the shards! Because of you we've been sitting around here doing nothing!"

"Sit." Kagome says, almost boredly. "We'll be back later tonight, Inuyasha and we can take off tomorrow. Yusuke and I got have to get supplies from our time since neither of us brought enough. That and today is Souta's birthday and I promised him I'd be there"  
Much to Yusuke's amusement, Inuyasha struggles to peal himself up off the ground.

"Feh. Wench, I don't care what your excuses are y-"

"Sit!"

-SLAM- Inuyasha once again meets the ground and this time decides to teach it his colorful vocabulary.

"Ahh the wonderful sound of Inuyasha getting slammed into the ground early in the morning." Miroku comments, stepping out of Kaede's hut. "Do I dare ask what you're arguing about now, or is it the usual?"

Kagome sighs. "It's the usual, Miroku. Sit!"

-SLAM- Ground, meet Inuyasha.

Yusuke snickers, since Inuyasha's crater is now about two feet deep.

"Come on, Yusuke. SIT! We'd better go before he manages to recover." Kagome says, dusting off her hands before picking up her small black bag that holds all her weapons and has a space enlargement and weight lightening charm on it.

Yusuke nods. "Alright. Lets go then." 'I just hope Koenma's not looking for me.'

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Back in the modern time…

Koenma nervously paces his office in his toddler form, waiting for Botan to show up with Yusuke. He looks up expectantly when he hears the door open and is surprised to not hear any of his Spirit Detective's usual complaints. He frowns when he sees that it's just Botan. "Botan, where's Yusuke at? I asked you to get him an hour ago."

Botan nervously bites her lip, her gaze worried. "Well you see, Koenma, I- I couldn't find him."

"What do you mean you couldn't find him? There's not many places he could be, Botan!" Koenma shouts, his panic rising.

"Genkai was the last one to see him." Botan says hopefully. "But I couldn't get anything out of her or Yukina… which is rather odd in itself."

Koenma frowns. 'This needs looking into.'

-POOF!-

Botan jumps when Koenma changes to his adult form. "This won't take long. Botan, cover for me if my father asks where I'm at."

Botan nods. "Yes sir!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Genkai's compound.

Genkai raises an eyebrow. "You expect me to know where the dimwit has run off to? Give me a break Koenma, I'm not his keeper."

Koenma sighs in frustration. "Genkai, you've got to know something. Yukina mentioned a girl came to visit. Did he leave with her?"

"He did." Genkai responds carefully. "Don't even think for a second that you're getting anything else out of me. Yusuke's helping a member of my family with something and she's helping him. I wouldn't tell you where he is anyway."

"Yusuke has obligations as Spirit Detective, Genkai. He can't go gallivanting around with some human girl!"

Genkai turns away from Koenma. "As far as I'm concerned Yusuke has paid his dept to you seeing as how he's saved all of our asses numerous times. If he wants to go and have fun doing something then let him. You still have Kurama and Hiei on probation, so make them do it."

Koenma's jaw drops. "But-"

"I'm done talking. I trust you can show yourself out without making a mess of things"  
Koenma snaps his mouth shut. "Yes, I can." He turns to go but hesitates for a moment. "Genkai, if you see him tell him I want to speak with him."

"I'll do that."

Koenma sighs in relief. "Thanks Genkai."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Kagome and Yusuke enter the Higurashi household laughing over the look on Inuyasha's face when Kagome 'sat' him when he was jumping from tree to tree.

"That was priceless!" Yusuke says, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "I haven't seen anything that funny since Kuwabara decided to hit on my other teammates sister.

"I'm sure that went over well." Kagome comments, trying to calm down.

"Kagome, you're home!" Souta shouts happily, running up and hugging Kagome.

Kagome smiles. "Hey squirt." She says, affectionately rubbing his head.

Souta knocks his sister's hand away. "Oh, come on, sis. I'm not a little kid anymore! I'm thirteen now!"

"Oops, how could I have forgotten?" Kagome asks teasingly. "Go tell momma I'm home and that I have a guest."

Now that Kagome has said 'guest' Souta turns his attention to the raven-haired teen standing beside his sister. "Who are you?"

"Yusuke Urameshi." He replies, smirking when he remembers what Kagome said about her little brother.

Souta's eyes get really big and he gasps. "Are you really? Are you really THE Yusuke Urameshi?" At Yusuke's nod the boy grins and turns to Kagome. "COOL! Where'd you meet him sis? Why's he here? Is he really the one who beat up Hojo? D-"

Kagome cuts off her little brother's line of questions by answering the first few. "I met him at grandma's. It turns out that he's her 'dimwitted student'. He's here because I asked him to come and he really is the one who beat up Hojo."

"Cool…"

"Can you go tell momma that I'm here with a guest?" Kagome asks.

Souta nods, albeit distractedly, and then goes off to find Mrs. Higurashi.

"I told you he idol worships you." Kagome grumbles, not surprised to see Yusuke smirking.

"You weren't lying when you said that, were you? What is that kid on anyway? He's worse than the little Kitsune friend of yours." Yusuke says, staring in the direction Souta went. "So why are we here again?"

Kagome smacks his arm lightly. "I told you! It's Souta's birthday and we need to stock up on supplies before we go off. With the rate we've been going lately Inuyasha's going to want to keep us over there for a month if he possibly can."

"Right, supplies." Yusuke says. "I forgot about that."

Kagome rolls her eyes. "Sure you did. But for now we're going to relax and eat my brother's birthday cake." 'I hope he likes the gift I got for him too. I had a hard time finding something…'

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Here you go, Souta." Kagome says, handing Souta her gift after he's unwrapped all the others.

Souta eagerly unwraps the think present and looks in surprise at the palm-sized pure red dragon scale. "Kagome, what is this?" Souta asks, examining it carefully, lifting up the silver necklace it's attached to.

"It's a dragon scale." Kagome replies, taking the necklace from his hands and undoing the clasp. "I got it from the Lady of the Northern Lands from one of my adventures in the past. She's a red dragon and she gave this to me." She puts it around her brother's neck and redoes the clasp.

"What's so special about it?" Souta asks, curiously examining the scale.

Kagome smiles, relieved that he's even a little interested in it. "Lady Flameria told me that when she freely gives one of her scales it takes with it a little of her energy which creates a dragon spirit of sorts. If you're ever in danger or are scared the spirit will come out and help you."

Souta looks at the scale in amazement. "Really?"

Kagome nods. "Yeah. Really."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"You never told me about Lady Flameria." Yusuke comments later as he and Kagome are walking down to the store to buy food. "Who is she?"

"We met Lady Flameria when we were in the Northern Lands. We were chasing down a rumor about a Shikon shard being in the area when we came across a wounded red dragon. Inuyasha wanted to kill it but I wouldn't let him. We camped there for a few days and I nursed the dragon back to health. It turned out to be the younger brother of Lady Flameria, Aidan. So he took us to the castle he lives in with her and introduced us to her and told her how I had saved him and everything." Kagome explains. "Then Lady Flameria overheard me talking to Sango about Souta and she suggested one of her scales. I actually have one too, but it's not from her?"

"Then who's it from?" Yusuke asks suspiciously.

"Me." A deep masculine voice says from behind them.

Yusuke and Kagome both jump and turn around. Yusuke summons spirit energy to his fingertips while Kagome squeals in surprise. "Aidan!" And then she hugs the boy tightly.  
When she steps away it can be seen that she was hugging a young man around 22 with fiery wild red hair and deep golden-orange eyes. Looking carefully past the disguise charm he has on, it can be seen that he has two ivory horns on his head and his ears are pointed.

"I can't believe you're here!" Kagome exclaims. Then she smacks him in the arm. "Don't scare me like that next time, you prick!"

Aidan just smirks. "Yeah, yeah. Nice to see you too, little miss time traveler. Who's your friend?"

Kagome smiles. "Aidan, this is Yusuke Urameshi. Yusuke, this is Aidan"  
Aidan mock gasps. "You mean I'm meeting THE Yusuke Urameshi! Oh gasp"  
Yusuke glares at the older boy and Kagome snickers.

'Things just keep getting better, don't they.' Yusuke grumbles in his mind when he notices a familiar pink dot flying down from the sky. "Would you look at the time!" He says, grabbing Kagome's arm. "Wish we could stay and chat, but we've really got to go now!"

"Yusuke!" Kagome hisses, trying to pry his hand off her arm. "What on earth-"

"It's Botan!" Yusuke hisses back. "I can't let her see me! I'm sure Koenma's looking for me and I really don't feel like dealing with it now."

Kagome blinks. "Oh, okay." As she's being dragged off into the door by Yusuke she yells over her shoulder, "Drop by the Higurashi shrine anytime you'd like, Aidan! I may not be there, but you'll get a warm welcome anyway!"

Aidan sweat drops. "Erm… Okay! I'll remember that." He snickers once the two are inside the store. 'I told Flame that they're good for one another! She owes me twenty gold nuggets and five rubies now! Ha!'

* * *

-End of Five- 


	6. Chapter 6

-Chapter 6:-

"Traveling"

-Me Aganist the World-

* * *

Yusuke and Kagome laugh and try to catch their breath at the same time as they dash into the Higurashi house and slam the door shut behind them.

"Oh Kami!" Kagome breaths. "That was actually kind of fun!"

Yusuke laughs hoarsely and slides down the door to sit on the floor. "Man, I don't think I've ever run that fast. Botan can sure high-tail it on that oar of hers." He looks over at Kagome. "I can't believe you found that fun! Don't you get enough running done in the Feudal Era when you're running from demons and stuff?"

"I haven't really had to run away for a while now." Kagome says, sliding down the door to sit down beside Yusuke. "I guess I just like the exhilaration. It was fun because we weren't in any real danger and it was more like we were playing a game of cat and mouse."

You never had this much fun with Keiko. Yusuke's conscious tells him.

Yusuke mentally groans. 'Not you again. You got me into enough trouble with Keiko! Shut up and leave me alone!'

Keiko would have made you talk to Botan but she'd give you that look that clearly says she disapproves. Kagome turns avoiding Botan into a game and could care less if you were really caught because she knows you won't get yourself killed.

'Shut up, dammit!'

"…-suke? Yusuke, hello? Earth to Yusuke!" Kagome says, waving her hand in front of Yusuke's face.

Yusuke blinks and looks at Kagome. "Huh? What's up? Besides the obvious, I mean."

Kagome smiles. "Nothing, you just looked a little lost. Arguing with yourself?" She asks.  
"Something like that…"

"It really doesn't matter." Kagome tells him. "I basically talk to myself all the time since it seems like Inuyasha never listens to anything I say unless it has to do with the jewel shards, demons, or food." She sighs. "Speaking of Inuyasha…"

"Oi, wench!" Inuyasha yells as he walks into the hall with his usual scowl on his face. "I thought you said you'd be back by now!"

Kagome just stands up and walks over to Inuyasha to shove some of the bags into his arms. "We ran into a little trouble is all." She tells him.

Inuyasha holds the bags up and looks at them suspiciously. "What's this?"

"Food." Kagome replies as she walks past him with her own bags. "You go ahead and take those to the kitchen. Momma will be in there and she'll help you. Yusuke and I still have to pack."

Inuyasha just 'feh's', but takes the bags to Mrs. Higurashi, knowing that if he doesn't he'll be the one wasting time. Meanwhile Yusuke and Kagome pack their bags, and Kagome uses her trick to make them extremely light and have an almost-infinite amount of space.

They leave for the Feudal Era a few hours before nightfall and the three stop by Kaede's to give Miroku, who is the only one there, some food for Sango and also to pick up Shikuro. Then they stop by Shippou and Kojiro's hut so that Kagome can give Shippou the candy she promised to give him.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Yusuke are walking through the woods just as they have been all morning. Inuyasha is in the lead, his senses on full alert for any signs of danger. Kagome and Yusuke walk side-by-side a little ways back so they can talk.

"So where exactly are we going?" Yusuke asks.

Kagome glances around at the trees and takes note of the side that most of the moss appears to be growing on. "We're going north toward Lady Flameria's lands. We could pay them a visit while we're up there."

"We're already in there lands." Inuyasha corrects her. "We just passed the boundaries between the Western and Northern Lands."

"Oh… so that means they already know we're here. Which means…" Kagome trails off as she looks up and spots a red dot in the sky.

"Kaaaaaaaggggoooooooommeeeeeee!"

The next thing they know, a young man around the age 16, is hugging Kagome tightly; his bright, fiery red hair that's pulled up in a ponytail blowing in the slightest breeze. Large red wings lay half unfurled on his back. He's wearing white pants with simple red ivy designs and an open vest done in the same design. Pointed ears can barely be seen beneath his messy bangs and the same goes for the small ivory colored horns on his head.

"Aidan!" Kagome exclaims, trying to untangle herself from the dragon's hug. "I see you've been working out in the sun." She says once she manages to take a step away from Aidan and she gets a chance to better look him over and see his more noticeable muscles and tanner skin.

Aidan grins. "That's right! Sis has left me in charge of training our new soldiers. Some of them are pretty pathetic so I've been working with them all day today."

"I'm glad you finally have something to cure yourself of your boredom." Kagome tells him, remembering how bored the young dragon was during her visit to the castle.  
Aidan bows. "Thank you, thank you! Now, who's your new friend who Shikuro apparently highly dislikes?"

Kagome sighs and picks up Shikuro before the blind dragon has a chance to light Yusuke's pants on fire again. "I told you, Shikuro, Yusuke is my friend. And we don't continuously attack friends." She tells them, before glaring lightly at Aidan. "This is all your fault, you know. You're the one who told him to watch over me and not let any new guys get close."

Aidan sweat drops and decides to ignore his priestess friend. "So… it's Yusuke, huh?" He says, looking over the raven haired teen. "Well, you seem fine to me, except for smelling a little like Raizen. Now," He smiles at Kagome. "Sis is waiting for us back at the castle and says that Inuyasha had better be ready to fight her again"  
"Feh! You can tell her that I'm always ready!" Inuyasha exclaims, his hand going toward his sword.

"She'll be happy to hear that, I'm sure."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Kagome, Yusuke, and Aidan sit up on a wall in the dojo and watch Inuyasha and Flameria fight. Shikuro is elsewhere in the castle. Aidan is happily eating a sucker that Kagome gave him. The "younger" boy finds them absolutely fascinating.

"She's really good." Yusuke comments, watching the female red dragon spin around and knock the Tetsusiga out of Inuyasha's hands and point her second sword directly at the hanyou's neck.

"I win." Her voice echoes through the dojo. "Now, Aidan, you go show them to their rooms and then bring them down for lunch. I'm sure they're hungry after traveling all morning." Flameria tells him as she sheathes both of her swords. She gives her brother a ghost of a smile before quickly leaving the dojo.

"Aidan, what's wrong with Flameria? She seems upset about something." Kagome worriedly asks the red haired boy.

Aidan half winces. "It's nothing'." He immediately withers under Kagome's rather harsh look. "I'll tell you later…"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Inuyasha, Kagome, Yusuke, and Aidan are sitting around a table talking to one another while eating their lunch. Flameria is nowhere in sight.

While Inuyasha and Yusuke argue about something stupid and completely pointless, Kagome talk to Aidan about what it is that's bothering Flameria.

Aidan lets out a heavy breath. "It all started a couple of weeks ago when sis went down to one of the smaller dragon communities to make sure they had enough food and shelter and to make sure there were no problems. She met a guy while she was there and well, she said she fell in love with him. Not that I don't believe her since with our bloodline we can instinctively tell when someone is suppose to be our mate…"

"So what's the problem?" Kagome asks. "Where is he?"

Aidan pokes at a piece of meat on his plate. "There are numerous problems. First of all he's a slave and his so-called 'owner' won't sell him. With the way our laws go they're unable to become mates anyway unless sis were to step down as Lady of the Northern Lands. She's considered stepping down, but I'm not old enough to rule. I've got another hundred-and-fifty years to go before I can even be considered fit to rule. And second… he's not a fire dragon like us. He's an ice-void dragon."

Kagome frowns and sets down her chopsticks. "What does that have to do with anything?" She asks.

Aidan gives Kagome an incredulous look. "They're as opposite as day and night! And with being a void it means that his ice powers are somehow locked away leaving him unable to defend himself well."

"That doesn't matter." Kagome says firmly. "So what if their powers are opposite. I've et quite a few people who are nearly opposite one another in personality and they've gotten together. Sango and Miroku for example. Sango's a demon slayer who has deadly accuracy when it comes to fighting and hitting things and Miroku's a lecherous monk with a 'cursed' hand. My mom and dad were also opposites and so are my brother and his girlfriend."

Aidan sighs heavily. "Kags… I know that blood and powers and status doesn't matter." He says softly. "I've been trying to help her find some way around the stupid laws, and it's really frustrating. Both of us are loosing hope"  
Kagome lays her hand on Aidan's in a comforting gesture. "You guys will get through this. I know you will. If there's anything that the three of us can do to help, just ask"  
Aidan pulls Kagome into a hug, thankful to have someone as caring as her for a friend.

"Thanks… nee-chan."

* * *

-End of Six- 


End file.
